What is designed to be the Middle East’s largest convention centre is currently taking shape within the prestigious Qatar Education Centre in the west of Doha.

Under a QR2.22 billion ($610.64 million) contract from Qatar Petroleum (QP), Baytur Construction and Contracting Company is undertaking both the design and construction of the Qatar Convention Centre on a turnkey basis.
QP, the national company responsible for all oil and gas industry processes in Qatar and abroad, is acting as the representative of Qatar Foundation (QF) on the project.
The 33-month contract comprises all the works involved in the design and construction of the convention centre, including the fit-outs and is scheduled for completion in February 2009. The striking building will be able to cater for up to 7,000 people in its four main halls.
The conceptual design of the Convention Centre was carried out by the Arata Isozaki, a renowned Japanese architect, who has incorporated a huge, organic tree-like structure as the main façade, symbolising the Sidra tree – the emblem of Qatar Foundation. Victor Buyck has been nominated to Baytur by QP to execute the Sidra Tree package.
“The Education City is one of the finest examples of cultural developments under way in Doha, Qatar, which is currently undergoing a construction boom with a large number of monumental complexes coming up,” says a spokesman for Baytur. “The Education City project area is divided into the South and North zones. The Convention Centre is located within the University Campus North Zone at the top of the site’s main axis – the Education City Boulevard – which runs down to the Ceremonial Court at the southern end, flanked by university buildings.”
The five-storey convention centre – 250 m long and 110 m wide – with an additional basement floor will be nestled in extensive landscaping. It will feature covered parking facilities with separate access and egress routes, bridges and underpass tunnels, which will provide easy access into the facilities. Some 120,000 cu m of reinforced concrete and 12,000 tonnes of the structural steel are expected to go into the construction of the building, which will have a total built-up area of approximately 142,000 sq m.
The four halls of the facility comprise a 2,500-seat auditorium floor (Hall 1), a 500-seat theatre floor (Hall 2), a 4,000-seat multi-purpose hall for conferences which can alternatively provide seating for 2,500 in a banquet setting (Hall 3), and an exhibition hall and facilities for major functions (Hall 4). As well as hosting conferences and exhibitions, the centre will provide a venue for local and international music and arts festivals, making it a key cultural facility in Doha.The exhibition hall is designed to easily accommodate large-scale events such as international motor and boat shows.
The primary facilities of the convention centre are supported with break-out rooms of various sizes and configurations – which range from 400-seat tiered break-out rooms (Halls 5 and 6) capable of operating as a cinema hall through to break-out rooms that can seat 150, 200 and 300 people (Halls 7,8,9 and 10), and other ancillary and support facilities including VIP and VVIP rooms and business lounges.